With the busy summer home-selling season well in our rearview mirror, many Realtors may feel as though they have missed their perfect opportunity to get their buyers a home in what has amounted to a competitive and challenging sales year. On the other hand, if you see buying a home in the Winter as an opportunity, then you see things just as we do!
Buying during the housing off-season may seem like you missed the boat, but the reality is that winter is a chill time to buy a home and we’ve got some great reasons why in today’s blog post.
Less Competition
The summer selling season is jam-packed full of buyers and sellers looking to make a deal, but Winter also has its distinct advantages! With fewer buyers entering the marketplace, there are more than enough opportunities to snag a great home for your client without all of the competition.
As the temperatures drop, open houses are less packed, buyers are less willing to shop around, and there’s a very good chance that you’ll find a home on the market that otherwise wouldn’t be there in the summer. So consider the Winter months as a perfect time to buy for your clients!
Homes Are Exposed
It may seem like a negative, but the reality of exposing a home to the harsh winter conditions, especially in chilly Northern climes, gives your clients a great idea of how a house will perform throughout the year. Even in temperate parts of the country, the winter tends to be some of the wetter months which can expose flaws in a home’s exterior as well as put stress on other mechanical systems therein.
That said, your clients get to see a house in its arguably most adverse conditions and see how it really performs. Summer can be deceiving as a home can hide some of its construction flaws, insulation issues, or general draftiness, but seeing a home in the winter will let them see it at its most exposed.
Limited Inventories, Better Deals
It’s true that buying a home in Winter gives your buyers fewer options to choose from, but one thing that may stand out to a savvy agent is that the homes that make it to market in the Winter months may be bargains. Part of that comes from the fact that winter sellers tend to be more aggressive with selling homes. For one reason or another, they missed the busy summer season and are looking to offload their property.
From another standpoint, you may be able to save significantly on a home in the Winter as opposed to your clients buying the same home in the summer. If they’re looking for a starter home, for instance, you may be in luck. Trulia research shows that starter home inventories in 70 of the 100 largest metro areas are highest in the fourth quarter of the year, and many of those homes list for nearly 5% lower than they would in the summertime.
Homes Close Fast
During the summer, everyone gets backed up. From other real estate agents to loan officers to lenders themselves, everyone has a waiting list to get real estate deals to close. In the winter, however, it’s much easier and faster to get financing, sign a contract, and close on a home which means you can get on with your taken care of much faster.
That said, being absolutely, positively ready to buy when an opportunity presents itself for your client in the off-season is paramount, and if you don’t have all of your ducks in a row then you may be left out in the cold. Get in touch with Tidewater Mortgage Services, Inc. today and get them pre-qualified for a mortgage today!
